The present invention relates to a guide device for transferring articles from a first conveyor onto a second conveyor at a transfer point wherein the conveyors are moving generally in the same direction.
There are any number of situations in the art wherein articles moving on a first conveyor are transferred to a second conveyor that moves in generally the same direction. The present invention is related to any such situation. One conventional conveying system in which this takes place is an accumulator system wherein articles moving on a first conveyor are diverted from the first conveyor onto a second conveyor that forms part of an accumulator system that accumulates and stores articles before depositing the articles back onto the first conveyor. One particular type of accumulator system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,325. Another type of accumulator system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,858. The present invention is particularly adapted for use with an accumulator system for transferring articles that were deposited on a first conveyor at an upstream delivery station onto a second or different conveyor that forms part of the accumulator system.
A problem in the art, particularly with accumulating systems, is that the articles placed on the first conveyor at the delivery station are fed at such a speed onto the first conveyor that they have little or no longitudinal spacing therebetween, this is particularly true when the articles are square or rectangular. In this case, the articles end up backing up and abutting end-to-end on the first conveyor. However, it is often desirable that the articles have a sufficient longitudinal spacing therebetween for further processing or loading. Various devices and processes are known in the art for causing the backed up or contacting articles to space apart on the conveyor. For example, pneumatic air brakes and like devices are often utilized for this purpose. However, such pneumatic devices are relatively complicated and require extensive and complicated pneumatic systems. The present invention provides a relatively simple and inexpensive device for controlling the flow of articles and spacing of articles on the conveyor.
The present invention is not limited to applications wherein articles are transferred from one conveyor onto a second conveyor, but also has applications wherein it is desired to control the flow and spacing of articles on a single conveyor. In this regard, the present invention provides a relatively simple and inexpensive device for temporarily transferring the articles onto a second conveyor and then immediately back onto the first conveyor in a controlled manner that results in a desired longitudinal spacing between the articles.